Well, I finished these two boxes of Vikings from Zvezda and Anglo-Saxons from Eimhar so I had to have a game with them. What I really love about 1/72 scale is that I got these two armies for less than 20€ and also that they are easy to store.
So I picked Great Hall Burning rules from THW and had a solo battle. I rolled and got Anglo-Saxons on the left with "Penetrate Center" deployment and Vikings on the right with "Hammer and Anvil" deployment. This deployments are from another THW rules called Rally Round the King, but they work perfectly well for this little battle.
Anglo-Saxons have two units of Hirdsmen Rep 5 AC4 on the hill with a unit of Weak Fyrd Rep 3 AC2 behind them and a unit of archers Rep 4 AC2 in front of them. There also are two Fyrd units Rep 4 AC4 on both flanks. All units undisciplined.
Vikings have two units of Huscarls Rep 5 AC4 in the middle section, one with general and standard army. In the forest there are one unit of Berserkers (Fanatics) Rep 4 AC 3 and one unit of Freemen Rep 4 AC4. On their left flank there is another unit of Freemen. They have one unit less than the Anglo-Saxons.
All units have eight figures each except the archers that got only six. I'm playing Vikings against Anglo-Saxons.
First turn. Activation dice: Anglo-Saxons 4 - Vikings 3.
Archers move forward and shoot at the Huscarls without any effect. Fyrds on both flanks also move forward and do Shieldwall. The rest of the army decides to stay in the hill.
I charge with my Berserkers but a champion in the Fyrd challenges my leader and everybody stops to watch the combat. After three rounds of wild melee the Berserkers slays the Anglo-Saxon champion, and then both units clash.
The Vikings lose one warrior whereas the Anglo-Saxons lose their leader, three warriors in melee and another one after the Will Test in which another man is lost!
On the other flank the Vikings charge uphill with less luck and lose more men than the Anglo-Saxons but both hold their position and melee continues in the next turn.
The Huscarls charge the archers but they successfully evade.
Turn 2: Anglo-Saxons 6 - Vikings 5.
Anglo-Saxons do not activate this turn! Both flanks keep fighting whereas the Huscarls charge the archers one more time. This time they shoot and kill two of them...
but then they are mauled in the ensuing melee.
Turn 3: Anglo-Saxons 6 - Vikings 2.
Anglo-Saxons seem to be shocked and unable to react! The Huscarls finish the rest of the archers, and the Berserkers exterminate the Fyrd on their right flank, but on the hill on the left all the Freemen are slain. Thanks to Loki that the Anglo-Saxons were somehow confused and rout off, leaving the battlefield!
Turn 4: Anglo-Saxons 3 - Vikings 2.
The Hirdmen from the hill finally charge and after much slaughtering they almost annhilate one of the Viking units which had to Fall Back with only two surviving men. The weak Fyrd didn't follow and halted in the top of the hill. Now the Berserkers charge the Hirdmen and they locked in combat while the other unit of Freemen flanks on the right, looking at the Fyrd on the hill.
A feast for the crows.
In the following turn the weak Fyrd in the hill is charged and they rout while all the Hirdmen die with honour. Victory for the Vikings!
Great looking Dark Age gaming with beautifully painted figures, Javier! Never heard of the rules before, but they do sound fitting - and looks like they play out nicely.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean. The rules are another title from Two Hour Wargames that specializes in solitaire games.
DeleteCheers!
Beautifully painted figures - I reckon you have almost enough to play 'Battle Ravens' with figures if you want a quick stylised game of shieldwall warfare.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your comment Rob. Are you talking about the board game? I don't have it :)
DeleteGorgeous figures. The slaughter was complete.
ReplyDeleteYes, I left the figures on purpose for a dramatic effecdt. I was bloody :)
DeleteCheers!
That is a great looking game. Seems like it played out fairly quickly, too. How long would you say it took? I really like Middle Earth SBG rules, but I'm very interested in the Great Hall Burning theme and campaign rules. Can you comment on the campaign rules at all? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comment. GHB campaign is basically one in which you start commanding a small force, although you can start at any level, and as you gain renown you are allowed to command/recruit more units. There are four nations, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Scots and Irish. Each nation has several sectors you can invade and conquest. There is morale and also passing of time, The Campaign is played in yearly turns. Each Campaign year consists of six Campaign Seasons; Spring, Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Fall and Winter. Each Campaign Year starts in the Spring and ends in the Winter.
DeleteThere are several scenarios to fight depending on your national morale and if you have won or lost the last battle. They are Scout, Raid attack, Raid Defend and Stand Up Fight. There is also a specific one which gives name to the ruleset, burning a hall at night.
The game is designed for solo playing at all levels, skirmish, battle, campaign, interaction with personalities, diplomacy and random events. Oh! and there is also rules for ships and sea battles.
Thank you for this good report. Javier!
ReplyDeleteI bought GHB in december, in a Deal of the Day at WargameVault (or DriveThru); a box of Vikings od Zvezda (in August)...now, i must buy rivals, read the rules, paint the minis... and play ;)
The big base (tray of movement) what is? Metal? MDF?
I'll follow yours reports of this rules (and your blog, in general).
Happy New Year
Hi Miquel, the movement trays are magnetic foil I bought a euro store. They are basic but cheap and fast to do them as they just need some cutting. I also bought Zvezda Vikings (you can see them painted in the blog) and they figt against Emhar Saxons (Emhar Vikings are also good).
DeleteI'm planning more games with GHB but adapting it to Fantasy. I'm finishing to paint a box of Dark Alliance Orcs and after them there are Trolls, wolf riders, Uruks, Giants, etc.
Happy New Year!